UK Government have no clear plan on how to phase out diesel and petrol vehicles
The House of Commons public accounts Committee says the the UK government has no clear plans on how to meet the target of phasing out fossil fuel vehicles and replacing them with electric vehicles.
The sale of new petrol and diesel cars are to be banned from 2030 and hybrid cars from 2035 and at the current rate this target won't be achieved.
The committee also commented that EVs (electric vehicles) were still far too expensive and there were not enough charging points available.
The government however said that is was on track to meet its target. A representative said that £2.8bn was being invested to help the car industry and the public move over to electric.
While the sales of EVs is increasing it still only represents 11% of new vehicles sold. The committee said prices would need to fall and more charging points are needed if the target is to be achieved. At present there are only 13 electric car models on sale in the UK that cost less than £30,000, according to the report.
A government spokesperson said that the cost of electric vehicles would fall as production scaled up around the world.
The committee also said the government needed to develop the skilled workforce needed to support the transition.
The UK has more than 23,000 charging devices in more than 15,000 locations, which have been installed by private companies including BP, Ecotricity and Royal Dutch Shell’s Ubitricity arm. But coverage is patchy, with nearly 44 per cent of charging points located in London and the south-east.
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